Sunday, 1 March 2009

Value for money.

The high street often seems to find it perfectly acceptable to charge high prices for not very much at all. Add a few beads or a strip of lace to a simple t-shirt and it can cost anything upwards of £40. Take some cheap metal and plastic, call it a necklace and charge £30. I have been looking for a new leather day bag since the strap on my old one broke. Everywhere I look, it appears to be perfectly acceptable to charge £50 for a fake leather bag, which seems to me to be insanely overpriced. I want real leather, which looks better, is better for the environment and feels better but I do not have a limitless budget.

So I was delighted to find that the sale is still going at Ollie&Nic, where I picked up this beautiful new tote:I love the bright colour, which works perfectly with my dark wardrobe of greys, blacks and navy. The lining is a lovely chandelier print which matches the cover of the book I am currently reading perfectly - yes I know, inconsequential, but I'll take a photo tomorrow to prove to you how charming a selling point it really is. It comes with a free purse, and extra strap so that it can also be worn across the body. It's real leather, and only £50 down from £165. And, essentially, it's big. I needed a new bag because all my nice ones were too small, apart from the broken one, a couple of cotton totes and a rucksack.

I didn't quite realise how big this bag was when I bought it. Not only is it big, it's also pretty heavy. Toting it around today, my shoulder did ache a little - although of course I could always switch carrying methods thanks to the different options. Still, I know I just need to get used to it, or maybe just carry around lighter crap. Either way, I definitely feel like I got value for money with this weight purchase.

Lovely colour, but leather can often be very heavy -which is the downside of this fabulous material.

One of my criteria for buying bags is the comfort, I put it on my shoulder and see if it's comfortable, if it stays on easily, or too heavy, or makes my elbow stick out at a strange angle - that kind of thing as I've made these kind of mistakes before.

What's making me happy:

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